Australian firm looks to plant flag in US

Brisbane, Australia-based design and web development firm Josephmark is conducting a campaign to reach out to clients and garner new business in the US, as well as to potentially share its work on a global scale

Objective: Brisbane, Australia-based design and web development firm Josephmark is conducting a campaign to reach out to clients and garner new business in the US, as well as to potentially share its work on a global scale.

“We're still in a very small pond over here in the Australian market,” said Josephmark general manager Carl Watney. “Our exposure to the US in the last year or two has helped us discover just how many other opportunities exist to work on some real innovation and pushing boundaries in digital design [in the US].”

Watney explains that the firm is seeing an opportunity to share the design methodology it developed to drive digital innovation and apply it to the US market. It also wants to acquire like-minded venture partners in the US.

“The underlying objective is to try to discover the right type of partner or client in the US by making it clear up-front who we are and what we're capable of doing,” added Watney.

Idea: Josephmark and four US design agencies participated in a private proposal for the redesign of Myspace.

The Josephmark team put together an animated pitch of a “day in the life” of a new Myspace artist and user. “Our concern was, could you reinvent that brand and do something special with it?” explained Watney. “We approached it from the point of view that we can see that this could be something really special.” The firm won design and development work for the launch of the new Myspace, including the teaser video showcasing the new platform.

Since winning the Myspace design work, Josephmark has worked closely with the social media site. “It's our highest-profile project, but it's really doing the same work that we're used to doing,” added Watney.

Josephmark is working with Klick Communications to promote itself in the process.

Tools: In the US, some of the firm's staffers have been working from the Myspace headquarters, but the shop is looking to set up studio space in Los Angeles while the partnership and work with Myspace develops.

“They're appreciative of the part Josephmark has played [in the relaunch],” said Watney. “We expect that some of Myspace's PR will be joined [in the campaign]. Myspace has been incredibly supportive of vouching for us and what we've done.”

Measurements: Josephmark does not want to receive hundreds of incoming business requests but enough so it has the luxury to choose partners it is excited about and are a good fit.

“We're not looking for dozens or hundreds of clients,” explained Watney. “We like to partner with a handful of venture partners who aspire for the same major change in the digital world that we're looking for. Our ideal goal would be to expose who we are, what we do to a wide range of industries, and from there hand-select potential partners and clients that we would feel is the right partner so we keep that passion for what we do and achieve amazing things.”